


All My Roads, They Lead To You

by Thistlerose



Category: Star Trek (2009)
Genre: M/M, Shower Sex, Slash, Starfleet Academy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-10-18
Updated: 2010-10-18
Packaged: 2017-10-12 18:32:31
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,401
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/127814
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thistlerose/pseuds/Thistlerose
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jim helps Bones unwind after a grueling exam.</p>
            </blockquote>





	All My Roads, They Lead To You

There'd been a plan at some point. Jim couldn't recall the exact details, but he was pretty sure falling into the Lily Sloane Memorial Fountain had not been part of it. Should've been, though, since the sight of Bones doing the backstroke around Ms. Sloane, in all her marble austerity, was pretty damn funny. So much so that, after a few minutes of standing there, laughing his ass off, Jim toed off his boots and jumped in with him.

"Shit, this water's fucking cold!" he screeched, very manfully, as he resurfaced. "Fuck!"

"Yeah, and it's probably crawling with bacteria," Bones said, sounding almost _gleeful_ as he flipped over and swam toward Jim. In the moonlight his eyes gleamed darkly and water dripped from his lashes. His eyebrows made a black V over the bridge of his nose. He looked quite sinister.

"We're gonna catch diseases and die," Jim said, and fuck, there was actually a little hiccup of panic in his voice. It was the weed, he thought, and that _look_ Bones was giving him. He almost yelped – okay, okay, fine, he yelped – when Bones's hands grabbed his hips and tugged him close.

"We're probably infected already," he said conversationally, his lush, wet lips just an inch or two from Jim's.

"So, we're doomed."

"Yep."

"Well, that sucks."

"I don't think we're gonna expire _right_ away. You seem pretty healthy to me." He stroked Jim from his hipbones to his hardened nipples. "Still time for me to do a few things I always wanted to do before I die." He thumbed Jim's nipples through the sopping front of his uniform.

"You've felt me up before," Jim pointed out.

"And I'm saying I'd like to do it _again_ before I die."

"I don't think we're gonna die here."

"No? That your expert opinion?" He pushed Jim's shirt up to his armpits and resumed pinching and teasing him without the impediment of thick, wet fabric.

"Yeah." He shivered as Bones leaned in to nuzzle the skin just below his ear. "Z'too ironic, us dying from bacterial infections when you just passed your flight exam." He felt the smile spilling across his face. "Bones, you _passed_."

Bones's laughter was a low rumble against his skin. "I know."

"So, we _can't_ die here. You passed your exam, so you're clear to fly. That means you _have_ to die in space."

Bones lifted his head and gave him a look. To describe it would have required more active brain cells than Jim possessed at that moment, but he filed it away for future contemplation.

Bones gave his nipples one last tweak, then lifted his hands and framed Jim's face between them. He swept the pads of his thumbs across Jim's cheeks and said, "Kid."

"Yeah?"

"I… God. _You_." He brought their foreheads together so they touched, then tilted his head up and kissed Jim right between his eyebrows. As he kissed his way down Jim's face, he chuckled. "Some friend. F'I'd had _any_ idea what I was getting myself into when I sat down next to you that day…"

"I'm a _wonderful_ friend," Jim huffed, curling his fingers around the waistband of Bones's pants. He felt Bones's stomach muscles tense, and grinned. "I've been _very_ supportive. Practically held your hand through the aviophobia seminars. Was there for all your flight sims, and cleaned up the vomit afterward. Showed up after the exam with a couple of celebratory joints because I _knew_ you'd pass."

"Yeah, you did." And there was just the slightest note of wonder in his tone. It gave Jim an incandescent feeling, despite the fact that he was rapidly losing body heat to the cool fountain water.

"And because I'm such a good friend," he said as his teeth began to chatter, "I'm n-not gonna let you stand here and die of bacterial infections or h-hypothermia, when it would be s-so much more fun to die in sp-space with me."

"You make it s-sound s-so s-sexy when you p-put it like th-that," Bones replied through his own chattering teeth.

"S'why I think we'd better r-relocate. I'm th-thinking a hot shower. Thinking … d'like to f-fuck you in the…"

Bones cut him off with a kiss so fierce he'd have fallen over if his fingers hadn't still been hooked in Bones's waistband. The heat of Bones's tongue and the coldness of his teeth as they clicked against Jim's sent a rush of shivers and sparks all through his bloodstream. His dick, which had drawn itself up against his body, gave an interested little twitch. _Not right now,_ he cautioned it. _Wait until we're home._

Bones couldn't have been aware, but he gave Jim's tongue one last stroke with his own, and broke the kiss. "Sounds like a plan," he drawled.

*

They started peeling off their clothes as soon as the door closed behind them. They just left everything in sopping piles on the carpet, and got inside the small bathroom as quickly as they could. "Come on, come on, come on," Jim muttered, rubbing his upper arms and hopping impatiently from foot to foot while Bones got the hot water running. "Yes!" he crowed as the spray hissed against glass and porcelain, and he ducked under Bones's arm to be the first one in the shower stall.

"God, you're like a child," Bones said, joining Jim under the showerhead.

"I'm _cold_." He dropped his head and let the water cascade over the back of his neck, his shoulders, and down his back. Bones had selected a high temperature setting, bless him. "Ahhh," he sighed appreciatively. "That's better." A moment later, he felt Bones's hands on him, cupping his ass, hitching him closer. His dick gave another twitch, much more hopeful this time, as his groin met Bones's, and Jim told it silently, _Yes, now is more appropriate._

"…you being from Iowa and all," Bones was saying.

"Huh?"

"You should be used to the cold, I mean."

Jim chuckled. "I did some dumb shit in Iowa, not gonna lie to you, but I didn't go swimming outdoors in the middle of November, then walk home in my wet clothes. How come you're so stoic?"

"Dunno," said Bones, reaching behind him for the shampoo bottle and snapping the cap open. He shrugged and squeezed a generous amount into one cupped hand, then added, "Think I might've left my nerves at the test site."

"Or maybe you're still a little stoned. I dunno, that wasn't the strongest stuff I could've..." The rest dissolved in a full-throated moan as Bones began to work his fingers through Jim's wet hair, massaging his scalp while he worked up a lather, and whatever might still have been frozen inside Jim melted. Closing his eyes, he moaned again and leaned into Bones, licking at his lips and stubble-rough chin, and if he a got a little of his own shampoo on his tongue, so the hell what?

"So," said Bones, still stroking his fingers through Jim's hair, making little spikes and curlicues, "the fountain-swimming thing. That was a new experience for you?"

"Yeah."

"Good."

Jim smiled. Bones got some kind of special charge from knowing when something they did – even something as idiotic as fountain-swimming in mid-November – was new for both of them. And that made Jim feel like…

He didn't know how to say it. He hadn't had much in the way of formal education after finishing high school. Mostly he was self-taught, with a supplement of classes at the community college in Riverside, and some on-line courses, but he imagined he was as well read as any university graduate. There was no shortage of pretty words in his arsenal. But he got so damn tongue-tied whenever he started thinking that maybe he should lay some of them at Bones's feet. And that had to mean something significant, didn't it?

"Close your eyes, baby," Bones murmured, nudging Jim backward half a step, so that he was standing directly under the showerhead.

Jim, who'd gotten caught up in his own reflections, blinked stupidly and got some of the shampoo in his eyes. He hissed at the sting.

"I warned you," Bones said, all lazy indulgence, as he rinsed the shampoo from Jim's hair, curving his hands around his ears to keep the water out. When he was done, he leaned in closer and brushed his lips over Jim's closed eyelids. "There ya go, darlin'." Then he gave Jim's lips a soft kiss.

Something stuttered inside Jim. An old, treacherous voice warned him that he was taking too much, more than he deserved, and that he'd better start giving back or else. Bones didn't know about the voice, which sounded a little like Jim's brother Sam, and a little like his Uncle Frank. Figuring that now was not the best time to bring _that_ up, he took Bones by the shoulders and turned him around so that his back was to Jim. He gave Bones's earlobe a tender nip, then whispered, "My turn."

He knelt and retrieved the bar of soap from the corner of the shower stall, rubbing it between his hands until he had a good lather. Still kneeling, he slid his hands up Bones's calves. Bones had great calves, Jim thought. From working out, sure, but mostly from working hard. Until he'd befriended Bones, Jim hadn't realized how labor-intensive doctoring – and nursing – could be; except for routine checkups, he'd spent most hospital trips unconscious, and therefore missed all the actiony parts. But Bones came home so exhausted sometimes, his muscles all bunched and knotted, and…

"Kid?" Bones's wry tone jolted him. "You lost down there?"

"Just admiring the view," Jim replied. He leaned up and planted a smacking kiss on Bones's left ass cheek.

"Brat."

He stretched the vowel, infusing the word with affection, and Jim responded with a loud kiss on his other ass cheek.

Bones grumbled something that the patter of water on glass, porcelain, and skin drowned out. Then he bent slightly at the waist and shifted so that his feet were a little farther apart, and if that wasn't an invitation, Jim did not know what was. He grabbed the soap again, and scrambled back up.

"Can't believe I actually passed the damn thing," Bones said while Jim soaped up his back.

"Why not? You keep your head during crises all the time."

"On the _ground_ , Jim. Y'know, I'll be the first McCoy in space?"

Jim knew – Bones had said it before – but he didn't reply. His focus at the moment was Bones's broad back, where he was idly tracing orbits with the bar of soap, and his own growing arousal. He moved a little closer so Bones could feel it.

Bones groaned his approval as Jim rubbed against him, and he put his palms on the wall to brace himself. His fingers curled reflexively when Jim wrapped an arm around his waist and latched his lips to the juncture of neck and shoulder. He continued to stroke Bones's back with the soap. The small of his back was the sun, Jim had decided. Aphelion was the shallow dip at the base of his skull, where the brown hairs were cut short and stiff. The scattering of freckles around his shoulder blades was an open star cluster. The ones a little farther down were asteroids or comets or something; Jim wasn't feeling especially imaginative just then. As for perihelion…

"Jesus!" Bones spluttered as Jim slid the soap between his legs. His hips bucked and he clawed for purchase, but there was none. Fortunately, Jim still had an arm around him.

"Warn a guy," Bones muttered, while Jim pressed a few soothing kisses against his neck.

"Hey, you're the one standing with his legs spread," Jim reminded him. "'Sides, I _did_ warn you. Back at the fountain, remember? Didn't I say I was gonna fuck you?" He kept rubbing the soap between Bones's legs, over the puckered opening and the perineum, occasionally nudging his balls with slicked fingertips. "D'you remember me saying that? D'you remember _anything_?"

"Don't ask me stupid questions, just fuck me," Bones snarled, and Jim laughed and kissed him again, and got soap on his lips. He licked it away, made a face at the bitter taste, then he licked Bones behind his ear.

Figuring Bones wasn't going to chide him about it _now_ , Jim dropped the soap, not really caring where it fell, just sort of hoping it didn't end up underfoot at some point, and kept stroking with his fingers only. He felt Bones's stomach muscles tighten, felt the heaving breaths, and decided he was done playing.

"Be right back," he whispered. He let go of Bones, opened the stall door, and stepped out into the steam-filled bathroom. His feet slapped against the tiles as he moved awkwardly to the sink, his dick informing his brain that they were going the wrong way, that the fun was in the opposite direction, where things were wet and slippery, and _Come on, let me steer, pleasepleaseplease._

"Hold on," Jim muttered, opening the cabinet and pushing things aside: shaving cream, toothpaste, cologne, bottles of vitamins. Someday, he was going to get all this crap organized. He found a condom and opened the wrapper carefully. Pinching the tip, he rolled it onto himself, closing his eyes and thinking cold thoughts – surgical instruments, the water in the fountain, Lily Sloane's disapproving marble gaze, Bones's feet in the morning –

" _Jim_. Damn it, I can't—"

Jim opened his eyes, grabbed the lube from the cabinet, and practically leaped back into the shower stall, closing the door behind him.

"Miss me?" he asked, wrapping himself around Bones. He gave Bones's erection a gentle squeeze. "Part of you is glad I'm back."

"Brat," Bones said again.

He kissed Bones and nuzzled him while he prepared him carefully, not exactly ignoring his growled insistence that Jim "Come on, damn it, come on, come on," but not responding to it either. He'd lost his fear of hurting Bones a while back, but he'd discovered that he really liked taking care of him this way. It was stupid, he knew, and he didn't think he'd ever be able to say it with words, but he'd never had anyone trust him like Bones seemed to trust him. And it wasn't enough to simply _have_ that trust; he needed to keep earning it, which meant doing everything right.

It meant pushing him to have fun, even when he resisted. It meant holding his hand through all those aviophobia seminars and flight simulations. It meant cheering silently from the sidelines while Bones took and aced his exam. And maybe there was a little selfishness behind all that. And maybe he should have felt guilty, despite the fact that helping someone get over his crippling and irrational fear was very clearly a good deed. But he couldn't be bothered with guilt. Not right now.

"You know what this means, don't you?" Jim said as he inserted a third finger and Bones made a strangled sound deep in his throat. "You passing? It means you're coming with me. Into _space_."

"D'you think I don't know that? Or that that's what I want to be thinking about _right now_?" He made another desperate sort of gurgle as Jim massaged his prostate. "I – damn it," he said raggedly. "Damn it, you know I'd've come with you … pass or fail, I'd've gone wherever you—"

Jim cut him off with a sharp nip to his shoulder. As he licked at the minor wound, he withdrew his fingers, reached around Bones, and squeezed some more lube onto his hand. He used it to slick himself up, then he tossed the lube aside and positioned himself at Bones's entrance, one hand on his hip to hold him steady. This wasn't his favorite angle, but the shower stalls hadn't been designed with sex in mind. He pushed in slowly, inch by inch, fighting the urge to slam home, giving Bones time to get used to the pressure and the burn.

"Kid, if Starfleet thinks I'm qualified to fly one of its goddamn shuttles, I can't be as fragile as you're acting."

"I know," Jim said, pulling out slowly, then pushing back in with more force. Bones hummed encouragingly. "I know, I—"

But then Bones reached behind them and gave Jim's ass a slap and that was it. Jim curled his fingers around Bones's erection, and began stroking in time with his thrusts.

In and out, in and out. Jim's eyelids fell shut and he dropped his mouth to Bones's shoulder. He was acutely aware of the texture of Bones's skin beneath his lips and tongue, of the tight heat gripping him, of his own stuttering hips. More dimly, he understood that Bones had let go of the wall and reached across himself to take hold of the hand that was clutching his hip. He was trying to thread their fingers and why Jim didn't just let him, why he dug in deeper and thrust harder, he couldn't have said even if he'd been capable of speech at that moment. He couldn't let go, he couldn't.

"Jim, I'm close. I need—"

Jim gave his erection another firm stroke, from root to tip. He swept the pad of his thumb over the slit, smearing pre-come, and Bones made this incredible panting keen as he pushed back against Jim. It was almost enough - _almost_ \- to send Jim over the edge, but he gritted his teeth, dug his fingers into Bones's hip, and kept going – ruthlessly now, almost savagely, the slap of flesh competing with the slap of scalding water.

Bones's hips jerked violently and his head tipped backward as he came. Jim paused and simply held him, supporting his weight, absorbing the shudders that rippled through his frame. When Bones was still, his dick limp in Jim's curled fingers, he kissed the pulse at his throat and whispered, "Ready?"

After a moment, Bones swallowed and nodded, and Jim resumed thrusting. He was close by now too. Heat coiled at the base of his spine, and all he needed—

Bones made another grab for Jim's hand, and this time he managed to get their fingers laced. He leaned back, aiming a kiss at Jim's mouth. It landed wildly off-target, but it was enough. Jim's orgasm swept through him, blinding him, filling his ears with the roar of waves. His knees wobbled. Gripping the condom, he pulled free just as his legs buckled and he and Bones went down in a tangle of limbs.

*

When Jim came back to himself, he was on the floor of the shower. There was an arm around his shoulders, supporting him, and his cheek was pressed to something smooth and wet. Bones's chest, he realized, as he became aware of a rhythmic thump. A warm, broad palm nudged his legs apart, then a thumb and forefinger curled around him and began to tug very gently. Bones. Peeling off the condom, thoughtful man. Jim mumbled inarticulately, and rubbed his cheek against Bones's chest.

"Welcome back, darlin'." Bones's voice was a pleasant rumble. A moment later, Jim felt strong fingers tugging at his hair, then curling under his chin and lifting his face. Warm lips brushed his, and he smiled.

"D'I go somewhere?"

" _I_ did. And I _think_ you were with me."

Jim opened his eyes. Bones's face was maybe two inches from his, so close he could have licked his lips if he'd had the energy. "Always," he said.

Bones reached behind him and came up with something small and white-ish. The soap. He waggled it in front of Jim's face. "One of us could have slipped on this and broken his fool neck."

Somehow, one or two of Jim's brain cells were still functioning, and it occurred to him that he'd been wrong before, it wasn't guilt he was supposed to be feeling, but responsibility. Bones trusted him with his body and his heart, and Jim was responsible for protecting both. And that was … a little scary, yeah, but kind of nice too. Nice. And with that hopelessly inadequate description, the last brain cell shut down, and all he could do was grin dopily.

"Kid?" Bones said, sounding just a bit uncertain. " _Are_ you with me?"

"Always," Jim whispered again.

Bones brought their lips back together and kissed him gently. "Sounds like a plan."

2/07/10


End file.
